Arizona was missing multiple key players in win over Northern Arizona

Arizona was missing starting running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt, safety Gunner Maldonado and several top offensive linemen in a sluggish win over Northern Arizona on Saturday. Croskey-Merritt was reportedly out due to unspecified eligibility issues. Maldonado was out with an unspecified injury.

Arizona was also without second-team wide receiver Reynello Murphy. Arizona lacked consistency versus Northern Arizona. The Wildcats were able to make up for Croskey-Merritt and Maldonado being out versus Northern Arizona. Second-team RB Quali Conley and backup safety Genesis Smith had productive games.

Conley continued to show his explosiveness as a runner and receiver. The San Jose State transfer had 17 carries for 112 yards and five receptions for 38 yards. Conley is 19th nationally averaging 134.5 yards from scrimmage per game. Third-team RB Kedrick Reescano also was a big contributor versus NAU.

Reescano had six carries for 71 yards and a touchdown. Reescano iced the game in the fourth quarter with a 56-yard TD run. Expect Reescano to have more carries as the schedule for Arizona only includes Big XII teams over the final 10 games of the regular season.

""We kind of struggled to find a rhythm offensively tonight, which is something we will go to work on...We had a couple guys that we had to get in there because a couple guys were unavailable...I think we'll need to evaluate that on film and see how it looked, and see if there's anything we can do to give us a better chance.""

- Arizona head coach Brent Brennan via 247

Brennan said "There was a concern raised about his eligibility and so we're just being over cautious with that and so we made that determination yesterday" to hold Croskey-Merritt out of the game on Saturday. Arizona will need to get healthy, particularly on the offensive with a road game at Kansas State on Friday.

Northern Arizona had seven tackles for loss and two sacks versus Arizona on Saturday. Those numbers should not happen for a Power Conference team versus a Football Championship Subdivision opponent. The OL was inconsistent in run blocking. Conley and Reescano had over 60 percent of the rushing yards on two carries.

In addition to the long TD run by Reescano, Conley had a 58 run. Arizona has to have a consistent performance from the OL on Friday night in Manhattan or it could be a long night in the little apple. There is no information if Croskey-Merritt will be available for the game versus Kansas State on Friday.

Genesis Smith had three tackles and one pass breakup in place of Maldonado. Arizona has improved significantly defensively in the last six quarters after allowing 304 yards and 24 points in the first half versus New Mexico. Getting Maldonado back versus Kansas State would be a big boost for Arizona on Friday.